Sports Betting
Companies associated with Gray Machines in Kentucky are being sued
Zach Wolpin is an NBA and NFL expert who's been betting on the league for over three years now. Wolpin is a fan of the NFL and NBA and has been watching for a decade and a half. He covers the latest news and stories surrounding the league daily. His passion in life is sports and being able to share that through his writing. He has written about the NBA and other sports leagues through various media outlets over the years like Sir Charles In Charge, G-Men HQ, and TAP into South Plainfield. Before he became a Sports Editor, Wolpin attended Montclair State University where he graduated in 2021. He studied Sports Media and Writing while in school.
Get to know Zach Wolpin betterPublished4 hours ago on October 09, 2024
In Kentucky, a non-profit organization has filed a lawsuit against companies associated with cash payout games. They are commonly known as “Gray Machines.” This lawsuit relies heavily upon a 1789 law that allows third pirates to recover money lost in illegal gambling. Thirteen years ago this helped Kentucky win a $300 million judgment vs. an online poker company.
The non-profit organization’s lawsuit is using the same principle to deal with the “gray machines.” They resemble casinoslots that have appeared in gas stations and retail locations across Kentucky in recent years. In Kentucky, “gray machines” are gambling machines that operate in legal gray areas. These are not classified as legal or illegal under certain laws.
As “Gray Machines” continued to grow in popularity, Kentucky was forced to make legislature for it. In 2023, House Bill 594 was passed by lawmakers to ban these types of games and clarify the rules around them. Despite that legislature being introduced a year ago, Kentucky still doesn’t have guidelines surrounding the issue.
A civil lawsuit seeks damages from “Gray Machines”
Empathy in Action was the non-profit organization that filed the lawsuit against the gray machine industry. Vanessa Cantley founded the organization in 2017 and she leads the lawsuit. The Loss Recovery Act allows a person to file a lawsuit within six months to recover money lost from illegal gambling. This is a law that has been in place for 226 years.
Even after six months, state residents can still file a lawsuit to recover up to three times the amount lost from illegal gambling in the last five years. In 2011, the former governor of Kentucky used the Loss Recovery Act to sue PokerStars. They were able to reclaim money lost by Kentuckians five years before 2011.
There are millions on the line in this lawsuit by Empathy in Action
Vanessa Canley went on the Kentucky Public Radio to discuss her lawsuit. She detailed how her case is similar to the PokerStars case. However, Cantley did mention how difficult it is to determine exactly how much Kentuckians have spent on “Gray Machines.” She expects the number to be in the millions. These machines would not be able to operate if they were not making that kind of money.
